Hitting the Greens

It’s prime time golf season, so I’ll share one of my favorite pre-, during-, or post-golf cocktails, called the Emerald Sun. It’s great and refreshing when served in a tall Collins glass and only has about half the alcohol of a regular cocktail.

If it’s a hot day out there, it’s easy to be dehydrated after 18 holes, and if you knock back a stiff one on the 19th, you just might miss the 20th, 21st, even the 27th holes. In the Emerald Sun, liquor is used for flavoring more than intoxicating, and it’s a really simple mix: use just a touch of gin, a touch of Green Chartreuse, some fresh lime sweet/sour, and lots of cold and refreshing club soda. It’s nicely balanced to keep you swinging without adding to your handicap.

Speaking of golf, the NorthStar Bartenders Guild is holding the first NSBG Open on June 24 at Columbia Golf Club in Northeast Minneapolis. There will be lots of fun, prizes, laughing, and drinking going on, for sure. If you’d like to pull out the sticks and hit the links with your favorite bar crew, check out nsbarguild.org. See you at the Open!

Have questions or ideas you want addressed in this column? Hit me up on Twitter @JohnnyPMichaels.

Johnny Michaels is the author of North Star Cocktails and a master mixologist at La Belle Vie and Icehouse.